Middle aged and elderly Britons unrepentant as young professionals cut back on
alcohol, official figures suggest

Middle aged and elderly people are ignoring warnings about excessive alcohol consumption as younger people turn their back on the daily after-work drink, official figures suggest.

People between the ages of 45 and 65 are now more than twice as likely to drink alcohol every day of the week than the those in their late 20s, 30s and early 40s, figures from the Office for National Statistics show.

And although middle aged Britons have reduced their intake in the last seven years, they have done so at only half the rate of those in the younger generation.

Strikingly, the figures show that pensioners have barely cut back at all and on some measures actually increased their drinking over the same period.

Over 65s drink as regularly as students – although in smaller quantities.

Health charities warned that concerns about binge drinking among the young should not be allowed to mask a tide of excessive drinking among middle aged and retired people who drink less but more often.

The figures, based on interviews with 12,500 people, found that overall 58 per cent had drunk some alcohol in the previous week – a decline of just under seven per centy since a similar study in 2005.

But the ONS said the decline was “driven” by those aged between their mid 20s and mid 40s.

Meanwhile a quarter of those who drink regularly indulge in binge drinking.

Among the youngest age-group surveyed – those aged between 16 and 24 – 27 per cent drink very heavily at least once a week.

But when those of student age are excluded, the study showed a substantial decline in drinking among young people.

Overall more than one in 10 of those surveyed admitted they had taken a drink virtually every day of the previous week - but more than half of those who admitted this were over 45.

Men aged between their mid 20s and mid 40s have reduced their drinking at almost twice the rate of those aged 45 to 64 while younger women have given up drink at six times the rate of their middle aged counterparts.

Retired men drinking rates have only marginally decreased in the last seven years while the proportion of women over 65 who drink has actually increased.

When asked how often they had taken a drink, the number of men aged between their mid-20s and mid-40s who admitted to drinking on at least five nights of the previous week has halved in the last seven years from 18 per cent to just nine per cent.

By contrast almost one five men aged between 45 and 65 drinks virtually every day – a proportion which has reduced by only a quarter in the last seven years.

At the same time a quarter of retired men drink daily, a proportion which has slipped by only a few percentage points.

Although women generally drink less often than men, middle aged women are more than twice as likely to turn to alcohol on a daily basis as those in the early part of their working lives.

And the number of retired women who drink every day is unchanged in the last seven years.

Overall the number of women over 65 who had taken a drink in the last seven days is up from 43 per cent to 45 per cent over seven years.

The study also found that smokers are significantly more likely than non-smokers to drink heavily on a regular basis and hat one in 10 pregnant women had taken a drink in the previous week. People who work are more likely to drink tha the unemployed.

Elaine Hindal, chief executive of alcohol education charity Drinkaware, said: “While it appears that people are drinking less overall, there is still a trend of heavy, episodic drinking among younger groups, and over half of those drinking on five or more days in the week are over 45s.

“People who drink frequently - every day or on most days of the week are just as likely as those who don’t drink as often to think they are in good health.

“However, the medical evidence is clear; regularly drinking above the lower-risk alcohol guidelines increases the chances of developing health problems such as liver disease and cancer.”

A Department of Health spokesman said: “It is encouraging to see that levels of binge-drinking are decreasing amongst adults.

“However, there must also be more focus on prevention, not just treatment for those with existing problems. That is why alcohol is addressed by GPs as part of the NHS health check.”